1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a method and system for transferring data between server systems. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and system for transferring data stored on a source server system as an ASCII flat file to a destination server system as a report file.
2. Background Art
As the use of technology in business becomes more prevalent, business entities are increasingly utilizing Information Technology (IT) to disseminate business information. For example, a business entity might have raw financial data that needs to be disseminated to various personnel. Oftentimes, the raw financial data is stored in a particular location and is in a particular format. However, the personnel receiving the data might not be able to readily locate the data file. Moreover, the particular format in which the raw data is stored might not be not conducive for reporting to the personnel. For example, the raw data could be stored as a column delimited ASCII flat file, which is difficult to read and interpret.
Heretofore, attempts have been made to provide a more efficient system for disseminating data. Such systems, however, do not provide a way to transfer the data between server systems while altering the format in which the data is stored. Specifically, existing systems do not provide an efficient way to transfer a data from a source server system in a first file format to a destination server system in a second file format. In contrast, existing systems merely copy the data directly from the first server system to the destination server system in the first file format. If conversion to a different file format is desired, existing systems require numerous personnel to manually re-format the data. Such efforts not only add considerable costs to the business, but also routinely produce a file that is wrought with errors.
In addition, due to the rapid pace of change in today""s business environment, data (especially financial data) is in constant flux. However, existing systems fail provide a way for data to be transferred from a source server system in a first file format to a destination server system in a second file format according to a predefined schedule. In contrast, existing systems rely on periodic manual transfers.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a method and system for transferring data between server systems. A need exists for such a method and system to be able to format the data from a first file format to a second file format during transfer. A further need exists for the data transfer to occur according to a predefined schedule.
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of existing systems by providing a method and system for transferring data between server systems. In general the method and system of the present invention locates and imports data stored on a source server system in a first file format to a staging server system. On the staging server system, the data is processed, formatted into a second file format, and exported to a destination server system. The present invention allows this transfer to occur according to a predefined schedule.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for transferring data between server systems is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (1) receiving data as a flat file from a first server system in a second server system; (2) processing the data in the flat file on the second server system according to predefined processing rules; and (3) exporting the processed data from the second server system to a third server system as a report file.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for transferring data between server systems is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (1) importing data as a flat file from a first server system to a second server system according to predefined configuration rules, and import schedule rules; (2) processing the data in the flat file on the second server system according to predefined parsing rules, editing rules, and translation rules; and (3) exporting the processed data as a report file from the second server system to a third server system according to predefined formatting rules and export schedule rules.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a method for transferring data between server systems is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (1) locating data as an ASCII flat file on a first server system according to predefined configuration rules; (2) importing the flat file from the first server system to a second server system according to predefined import schedule rules; (3) parsing the data in the flat file to identify data points according to predefined parsing rules; (4) editing the data in the flat file according to predefined editing rules; (5) translating the data in the flat file into a predefined standard according to predefined translation rules; (6) formatting the data in the flat file into a report file according to predefined formatting rules; and (7) exporting the report file from the second server system to a third server system according to predefined export schedule rules.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a system for transferring data between server systems is provided. The system comprises: (1) an import system for importing data as a flat file from a first server system to a second server system and for processing the imported data on the second server system, according to predefined import system rules; and (2) an export system for formatting the processed flat file into a report file and for exporting the report file from the second server system to a third sever system, according to predefined export system rules.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a system for transferring data between server systems is provided. The system comprises: (1) an import system for importing data as a flat file from a first server system to a second server system according to predefined configuration rules and import schedule rules, and for processing the data in the flat file on the second server system according to predefined parsing rules, editing rules, and translation rules; and (2) an export system for formatting the processed flat file into a report file according to predefined formatting rules, and for exporting the report file from the second server system to a third sever system according to predefined export schedule rules.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a system for transferring data between server systems is provided. The system comprises: (1) an import system for importing data as an ASCII flat file from a first server system to a second server system and for processing the data in the flat file on the second server system, wherein the import system comprises a configuration system for locating the flat file, an import schedule system for importing the flat file from the first server system according to a predefined import schedule, a parsing system for identifying data points in the flat file, an editing system for editing the data, and a translation system for translating the data into a predefined standard; and (2) an export system for formatting the processed flat file into a report file and for exporting the report file from the second server system to a third sever system, wherein the export system comprises a formatting system for formatting the processed flat file into a report file, and an export schedule system for exporting the report file from the second server system to the third server system according to a predefined export schedule.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a program product stored on a recordable medium for transferring data between server systems is provided. When executed, the program product comprises: (1) an import system for importing data as a flat file from a first server system to a second server system according to predefined configuration rules and import schedule rules, and for processing the imported data on the second server system according to predefined parsing rules, editing rules, and translation rules; and (2) an export system for formatting the processed flat file into a report file according to predefined formatting rules, and for exporting the report file from the second server system to a third sever system according to predefined export schedule rules.
Therefore, the present invention provides a method and system for transferring data between server systems.